United Nations

 NEW YORK, 14 June (UN Headquarters) -- The following statement was issued today by the Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General:

 Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced today the appointment of Major-General Manuel Saavedra of Uruguay as Chief Military Observer in the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP).

 Major-General Saavedra has served in the Uruguayan Armed Forces since 1961.  He attended both Command Staff and War Colleges.  He has held senior command and staff appointments in the field and various headquarters in the Uruguayan Army.  Currently, he is the General Director of his country's Military Institute of Branches and Specialties.  Previously, he served as Executive Director of the Uruguayan Army Headquarters (1999-February 2000) and as Supervisor of Army Infantry (1995-1999).  He also served as Military Attaché with the Uruguayan Embassies in Chile and Ecuador (1996-1998).

 Major-General Saavedra was Commander of the Uruguayan Transport and Engineer Unit in the Multinational Force and Observers in Sinai (MFO) in 1984, and Sector Commander in the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) in 1993.

 Born in 1945, Major-General Saavedra is married and has a son.